He was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Kempling is perhaps best known for being a veteran of World War II stationed in Burma. He was a Flight Lieutenant with the R.A.F. and his plane was shot down over the jungles of Burma while on a mission. Surviving the crash, he was subsequently taken prisoner by the Japanese Army and interned in a P.O.W. camp until he was able to escape and make his way through the jungle where he was rescued by a patrol of Ghurka Soldiers that brought him safely out of the jungle to Allied territory.